Performance athletic apparel

ABSTRACT

Performance athletic apparel disclosed herein is designed to help athletes during customized movements and activities for their chosen sport. The disclosed apparel has a hood that is comfortable to wear, stays in place during wear, and minimizes weather exposure for the athlete. The hood further allows athletes to maintain a wide field of view. To accomplish these functions, the hood includes seams that flex along movement patterns specific to the selected sport that allow the hood to move with the athlete&#39;s head during movement and cinch cords that secure the hood in place on the athlete&#39;s head and prevent water entry, such as from wet weather conditions.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Nos.62/890,948, filed Aug. 23, 2019 and 62/890,942, filed Aug. 23, 2019,which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Aside from natural talent, hard work, and perseverance, the equipmentthat athletes and enthusiasts use further allows them to achieve peakperformance. Among such equipment is the apparel athletes wear. Athleticapparel provides athletes with numerous advantages. For example,athletes that compete in winter sports such as skiing and snowboardingmay wear apparel made from materials such as Gore-Tex, which is awaterproof and breathable fabric. The waterproof feature of such afabric prevents outside moisture from penetrating the fabric and helpskeep the athlete warm and dry while the breathable feature allows forexcess moisture and humidity from the athlete to escape from the fabricin order to keep the athlete comfortable. However, for some hybridperformance fabrics such as Gore-Tex °, there is a tradeoff betweenwaterproofness and breathability to account for both needs of theathlete. Such fabrics cannot be fully waterproof and fully breathable atthe same time. Instead, these fabrics try to balance waterproofness andbreathability. For these fabrics, more waterproofness means lessbreathability and vice versa.

Further, performance athletic apparel is typically designed with theactivity or sport in mind, which leads to selections on the fabricsbased on overall athlete performance needs during the activity. However,oftentimes, conventional performance athletic apparel is designed by thecut or utility of its various features to allow the athlete tocomfortably and adequately move with the apparel, especially in harshweather conditions, such as rain and cold weather, when materials arerequired to protect the athlete from the elements. Specifically, anglersstruggle to find performance apparel that accounts for the activitiesunique to their sport, such as driving a boat a high speed and handlingfishing during catch, presentation, and release or capture. Water tendsto soak into the anglers' jackets and other performance apparel atlocations like the athlete's hood and at the cuffs of the arms.

The art could benefit from performance athletic apparel that is designedfor the athlete's athletic activity of choice and provides protectionagainst harsh weather conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate various view of an example jacket according toaspects of the invention.

FIGS. 2A-2C show an example hood for the jacket illustrated in FIGS.1A-1D.

FIGS. 3A-3C show an example shirt with a hood according to aspects ofthe invention.

FIGS. 4A and 4B illustrate example pockets on the jacket shown in FIGS.1A-1D.

FIGS. 5A-5C illustrate various views of example bibs according toaspects of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a portion of a pant leg of the example bibs shown in FIGS.5A-5C.

FIG. 7 shows an example shoulder strap securing element of the bibsshown in FIGS. 5A-5C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Performance athletic apparel is disclosed herein that is customized toan athlete's activities and protects the athlete from harsh weatherconditions, such as rain, moisture, and wind. Specifically, the exampleapparel described is customized to angling to allow anglers to movetheir heads freely while wearing a hood, stay dry or prevent moisture orfluids from entering vulnerable locations on the apparel, such as ahood, seams, pockets, zippers, and the like. Specifically, the disclosedapparel is designed to withstand high speeds that anglers face whentraveling on a boat and to protect anglers during low speed activitieslike catching and handling their fish. The disclosure discusses variousexamples of apparel including a jacket, a shirt, and bibs, but theconcepts disclosed herein can be extended to other types of apparel.Although this disclosure makes reference to athlete's wearing thedescribed apparel, any athlete can also wear the disclosed apparel forany reason, whether or not the athlete considers himself or herself andathlete or is engaged in any particular sport.

Conventional hybrid performance materials have vulnerabilities. In thesport of fishing, the hoods for jackets, shirts, and coats pose severalproblems for anglers. When driving a fishing boat at high speeds, hoodsare not secure and may be blown off the angler's head and may flaparound in the wind. In addition to the hood fabric and componentshitting the angler's face, such flapping is noisy and may obstruct theangler's vision.

Still further, hoods are not designed effectively to move in tandem withthe head. The head rotates inside of the hood instead of the hood movingwith the athlete's head motion. As a result, the vision of the athleteis compromised. Consequently, anglers need to turn their whole bodyinstead if they wants to maintain proper vision. In the fishingindustry, when driving a fishing boat at a high speed, anglers having toturn their heads to look left or right poses a danger because theanglers' vision straight ahead is then compromised.

Also, in rainy, cold, or marine conditions, hybrid performance materialssuch as Gore-Tex tend not to remain waterproof, especially at certainvulnerable areas in the apparel like a hood, at arm or leg cuffs,zippers, pockets, certain seam lines, and at other strategic areas onthe apparel where water pools. Some particularly vulnerable areas alongthe seam lines include the cuff, zippers, sewn seam lines, andbreathable areas (e.g., under the armpit). Some vulnerable areas on theapparel where water tends to pool include the top of the shoulders andthe hood. Water is able to penetrate these areas and the fabric insidethe apparel can start to “wet-out,” which means it starts to hold waterrather than repelling it from the surface. When apparel “wets-out” itbecome heavier and loses its ability to further wick water away from theathlete and allow air to escape. The heavier apparel can place extraweight on the athlete, which can make the athlete sore in certain areas,such as the back, knee, hip, and shoulder joints. When the apparel canno long wick water away from the athlete to allow air to escape, it isno longer breathable so water and moisture is trapped in a microclimatebetween the apparel and the athlete. Essentially, apparel that“wets-out” is simply is uncomfortable for anglers and make them cold.

Such vulnerabilities of these hybrid performance materials are morepronounced when they are used for sports such as fishing. As mentionedabove, one of the main areas of vulnerability is the cuff. For example,when holding up a fish after it has been caught, water from rain andsplashing may run down the athlete's arm. For another example, waterpassing from the fishing rod and reel to the hand enters under the cuff,causing mid-layer sleeves under the jacket to soak up and retain water.For yet another example, when driving the fishing boat at speed in therain, wind forces water into any unprotected places, especially the hoodbecause the athlete uses it during high speed travel in a boat and thecuffs because they are held up on the steering wheel.

Additionally, the pooling of water on a rain jacket, for example, mayreduce the waterproofness of the rain jacket. Certain areas, such as thecuffs, zippers, seams lines, etc., are more susceptible to water poolingthan others. For example, water may pool at the cuff and in areas wherethe cuff is vulnerable (e.g., buttons, Velcro flaps, zippers, etc.),water may leak into the inside of the rain jacket. For another example,water may pool along a zipper of the rain jacket and may leak through tothe inside of the rain jacket through the gaps between the teeth of thezipper. For yet another example, water may pool at the seam lines of arain jacket and if the material of the seam is not waterproof then watermay leak through to the inside of the rain jacket through the seam line.

The present invention solves at least some of the problems mentionedabove. The example performance athletic jacket described herein helpskeep water out of the jacket and from pooling on the jacket, ventshumidity from the athlete, and has a hood that does not interfere withthe athlete's head and vision all while not impeding the range of motionof the athlete's arms. While a jacket and a shirt are used to describethe inventions herein, the same inventions could apply in other apparel,such as other designs of jackets and shirts, base layers, full-bodysuits, pants, and the like, and the ideas are not restricted in any wayto a jacket or shirt embodiment alone.

FIGS. 1A-1D show an example jacket 100 having a main body portion 101and a hood 132 made from waterproof fabric with seam-taped construction.In one embodiment, the location of the seam lines and the patterning arechosen based on the range of motion for an angler, including, but notlimited to casting, reaching into the water, catching and facilitatingrelease of a fish, driving a boat, and the like. However, otherembodiments are envisioned (e.g., game hunting, military, etc.) in whichthe location of seam lines and the patterning may be different andcustomized to that respective athlete's activities. Overall, the numberof seam lines shown in the jacket 100 of FIGS. 1A-1D are reducedcompared to conventional rain or cold weather jackets. Reducing thenumber of seam lines decreases failure areas (e.g., ripping of fabric atthe seams, water leaking into seams, etc.), extends the duration theathlete can wear the apparel in harsh weather conditions, and increasesthe range of motion for the athlete. Additionally, the seam lines arespecifically moved away from areas where known motion of the athletecauses functional challenges (e.g., movement of the athlete's head whenwearing the hood) and where water would pool on the jacket to maximizewaterproofing by minimizing areas where water may leak into seams.

The jacket 100 is designed to mitigate restrictions on the range ofmotion for the athlete. This is achieved by minimizing seam lines andthe strategic placement of the existing seam lines throughout the rainshell jacket. The front 102 of the jacket 100 has a shelf seam 104shaped around the chest of the athlete. This is important so that thejacket 104 has flexibility to twist when the athlete turns his or hertorso. Conventional rain jackets do not have a shelf seam at theathlete's chest and therefore minimally turn when the athlete turns hisor her torso causing the athlete to experience resistance from thejacket, which forces the athlete to turn his or her legs or feet inorder to achieve the desired range of motion. The shelf seam 104 shapedaround the chest of the athlete allows the athlete a full range ofvertical twisting motion without resistance for the torso so that theathlete does not have to turn his or her legs and feet.

The shoulders of the jacket have articulated back raglan hybrid seams106 located on the back of the rain shell jacket below the top of theshoulder. Additionally, there are wrapping gussets 108 that run from theelbows and down the sides of the torso of the athlete. The placement ofthe articulated raglan hybrid seams 106 and the wrapping gussets 108allows the athlete to lift his or her arms up, forward, and backwardswithout resistance from the rain shell jacket. Like the chest seamacross the back of the jacket, these shoulder 106 and torso 108 seamsallow the jacket to flex along those seam lines to accommodate theathlete's movement. On the other hand, when an athlete of a conventionalrain jacket lifts his or her arms up, forward, and backward, the rainjacket exhibits resistance which makes the shoulders of the rain jacketbunch up and pull the sleeves up to expose the athlete's wrist and armsto the external environment and the bottom of the rain jacket lifts upto exposing the athlete's belly area to the external environment.Because the articulated raglan hybrid seams 106 and wrapping gussets 108eliminate resistance of the jacket 100 when moving the arms up, forward,and backward, the wrists, arms, and torso of the athlete stay covered bythe jacket 100 and are not exposed to the external environment. This isimportant for anglers since they work in wet environments and want tokeep their clothing and skin underneath their jacket dry.

The elbows of the jacket 100 each have an inner elbow dart seam 110 thatcauses the rain shell jacket to hug the athlete's elbow and lower arm.As a result, when the athlete moves his or her lower arm, there is noresistance from the jacket and the sleeve does not move up or down atthe athlete's wrist so none of the athlete's clothing or skin under thejacket is exposed to the external environment. However, the sleeves ofconventional rain jackets exhibit resistance when the athlete moves hisor her lower arm up or down causing the athlete's wrist to be exposed,which in turn exposes the athlete's clothing, and skin that isunderneath the rain jacket to the external environment. Therefore, theinner elbow dart seams of the rain shell jacket are another feature ofthe rain shell jacket that keeps the athlete's clothing and skin dry andunexposed to the external environment.

The hood of the jacket has two shortened seams 112 that each run inparallel from the middle of the back of the neck to stopping short ofthe forehead. Additionally, there is a seam 114 that extends around thehood to wrap around the upper neck between each cheek of the athlete.The combination of these seams 112, 114 flex with the athlete when sheor he turns her or his head side to side and up and down to allow for afull range of motion (e.g., up, down, left, and right) of the athlete'shead while inside the hood of the rain shell jacket. Hoods ofconventional rain jackets do not move with the athlete's head. Instead,the athlete's head moves inside the hood while the hood stays still,causing the athlete's peripheral vision to be cut off and forcing theathlete to turn his or her torso if he or she wants to look to eitherside. When driving boats, anglers need full use of their peripheryvision. If they are forced to turn their whole torso to look to eitherside, the hood cuts them off from seeing what is directly in front ofthem, which is very dangerous, especially at high speeds. The rain shelljacket allows the athlete full use of their periphery vision whilelooking straight ahead or to the side since the hood follows the headwhen it moves.

Seam lines are the most common areas where rips and tears occur onclothing. The resistance caused by the movement of the head, torso, andarms in conventional rain jackets put added stress at the seam lines,thereby increasing the likelihood of ripping and tearing at these seamlines. By eliminating the resistance head, torso, and arm movements haveon the rain shell jacket, rips and tears along the seam lines aregreatly reduced.

The front of the rain shell jacket has a zippered entry 116 thatincludes a TIZIP MasterSeal 6 zipper that has a 3 PSI pressure ratingand is well above waterproofing standards.

The zipper is heavy duty with widened seam tap for full security. Thezipper is made of a durable, polyurethane-coated tape and the durableplastic teeth of the zipper are attached to the tape. The waterproof andpressure-resistant properties of the zipper are achieved by using asealing lip at the point of interlocking. The zipper extends from thebottom of the rain shell jacket up to the top of the hood's facemask118. A face opening is a void in the hood that extends around theathlete's face when the jacket or other article of apparel is worn bythe athlete. The interior of the zipper has a storm flap that creates abarrier between the face and the zipper pull. Additionally, the front102 of the jacket 100 has a shelf seam 118 around the chest thatprovides the athlete wearing the jacket 100 with a snug fit andadditional flexibility around the torso for the jacket to move with thetypical movement of the athlete.

The sleeves 120 of the jacket 100 are shorter than other conventionalrain jacket sleeves by approximately one inch although this range couldbe more or less depending on the activity of the athlete, the size ofthe athlete, and other design factors. Shorter sleeves avoid sleevematerial bunching at the wrist during certain key movements like whenthe athlete reaches downwards over an object, such as the athletereaching over the side of a boat to bring in a fish or grab a net, forexample.

Strategic patterning and placement of seam lines in the arm sleeves 120of the jacket 100 are based on body movement data collected throughanalysis of specific fishing movements in the examples shown in FIGS.1A-1D. Additionally, the strategic patterning and placement of the seamlines prevent the sleeve from riding up the arm during any of theangler's motions (e.g., casting motion, reeling motion, reaching motion,steering motion, etc.). For example, as described above, an inner elbowdart seam 110 wraps around the elbow, a back elbow seam 122 builds backthe arm shape, and a wrapping gusset 124 allows free movement of thearm. The combination of these seams 110, 122, 124 prevents the sleevefrom riding up the arm when the arm is extended away from the body.

Each arm sleeve 120 of the jacket 100 ends in a double-layered cuff 125consisting of an interior cuff 126 and exterior cuff 128 that is shownin FIGS. 4A and 4B. The exterior cuff 128 is made from fabric and canflip up to expose the interior cuff and has hook and loop fastener flap130 for adjusting the size and tightness of the cuff. The interior cuff126 is made from a soft material, such as neoprene, with fabric on theface and rubber on the back. It is designed to have a slim profile sothat it hugs the wrist, does not flap around in the wind or duringmovement of the arm, and does not allow water to leak underneath it. Italso includes a 2 cm waterproof ripstop to prevent ripping of the innercuff 126. In this example, the ripstop is nylon, but it couldalternatively be cotton and polyester if desired.

A ripstop is a woven fabric that uses a special reinforcing wovenstructure that makes it resistant to abrasion and tearing. Duringweaving, reinforcement threads are interwoven at regular intervals in acrosshatch pattern to create the ripstop. The intervals are typically 3to 8 millimeters. Most conventional rain jackets do not have ripstopsand are vulnerable to tears and holes created by tension. The ripstopfor the jacket described in the present disclosure is accomplished bysandwiching the self-flap in the seam of the ripstop and then using seamtape on the inside of the seam. The corner of the tape is then pusheddown out of the junction of the seam. The interior cuff 126 extendsfurther than the exterior cuff 128 and has a neoprene closure for acomplete waterproof seal even when submerged in water. Conventional rainjackets have cuffs that do not use the same neoprene and are not tightenough to achieve the waterproof seal as the jacket 100 described in thepresent disclosure.

The hood 132 for the example jacket 100 is designed to preventinterference to the athlete's head and vision. The hood 132 is a lowprofile, ergonomic hood that has the ability to stabilize and preventwater intrusion at 75 MPH speeds. The fabric hood 132 has been uniquelycut in a way that allows for full peripheral vision while covering moreof the face to prevent water from intruding. It is cut so that theentire head of a range of select sized athletes (e.g., a range ofaverage known athletes of a particular clothing size) is covered exceptfor the area around the nose and eyes not being covered by the hood.Instead of the head moving inside of the hood while the hood staysstationary, which is the case for conventional hoods, the hood 132 ofthe jacket 100 described in the present disclosure is designed to movewith the head. This is accomplished by creating a tight fit for the hood132 by having seams 112, 114 wrapping around the neck of the hood 132 toflex when the athletes twist their heads and use shock cords 134, 136that go around the face and head of the athlete when wearing the hood.By adjusting the shock cords 134, 136, the athlete is able to achievethe tight fit of the hood 132 that flex in the typical rotationalmovements in a horizontal and vertical plane.

The front of the hood 132 has a facemask 118 that is raised for improvedwater protection and wind resistance. Conventional hoods on rain jacketseither do not have a facemask portion or they have a small facemask thatonly covers the athlete's chin. The jacket 100 described in the presentdisclosure covers the athlete's face all the way up to the nose so thatthe athlete's mouth and lips are covered by the facemask 118. There areadjustable shock cords 134 that go around the front of the top of thehead down to each side of the chin within 0.5 inch shock cord tunnels.The shock cord exits to the exterior of the jacket through a bartackedchannel at the bottom of each side of the chin. At each exit point, theshock cord goes through a plastic stabilizer so that the athlete canquickly and efficiently adjust the tightness of the hood around theface. The top of the hood above the forehead has a plastic brimstabilizer that accommodates a hat if the athlete choses to wear a hatwhen also wearing the hood. The stabilizer also keeps the front edge ofthe hood from blocking the athlete's eyes and holds the front edge ofthe hood out in front of the athlete's face in order to give somecovered protection from rain to the athlete.

The back of the hood 132 has an adjustable shock cord 136 goes through40 mm bonded channels from the front of the top of the head around tothe back of the head where the head and neck meet. The shock cord 136exits in the middle of the back of the hood 132. The shock cord 136 goesthrough a plastic stabilizer at the exit point so that the athlete canquickly and efficiently adjust the tightness of the hood 132 around theathlete's head. There is a bonded overlap to cover the exit point of theshock cord 136 so water is prevented from entering the exit point.

The jacket 100 has enlarged pockets 138 on each side at the hips of theathlete. These pockets 138 are patterned to have an overlap to protectthe zipper from rain. The pockets 138 are also angled to help reduce thelikelihood that water will pool near the pockets 138. Enlarged pockets138 reduce the number of seams and possible failure points and also givethe athlete room to store objects, such as gear and tools. Each enlargedpocket 138 has a waterproof zipper 140 with a laminated overlap fordirectional waterproofing, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The zipper 140is offset from the fold line of the pocket flap. One side of the zipper140 has an extended piece of fabric that folds inside the zipper whenthe zipper is closed. When the zipper is closed, a flap folds over thezipper. The inside 142 of the enlarged pockets are lined with microfiberor other material for insulation to retain heat so an athlete can warmhis or her hands while the hands are inside the enlarged pocket. Atleast one, and in some examples both, of the enlarged pockets alsocontains an additional interior raised media pocket 144 for elevatedelectronic or other select object protection. The media pocket 144 isglued or otherwise releasably or permanently secured into the enlargedpocket 138 and has a zipper entry 146 that is inside the enlarged pocket138.

The back of the jacket 100 has a waterproof rear cape 148 vent thatmoves with the athlete's motion to pump heat and humidity out of themicroclimate between the athlete's body and the jacket 100. The capevent 148 also increases the range of motion across the athlete's backarea. Conventional rain jackets rely on porous structures of awaterproof, breathable fabric for it primary form of breathability anddo not include a mechanical venting system such as described herein.However, porous structures in fabric sacrifice waterproofness since theyare susceptible to water leaking from the exterior of the rain jacket tothe interior of the rain jacket. By using a rear downward facing capevent 148, the jacket 100 described in the present disclosure does notsacrifice any waterproofness.

The hydrophobic mesh is breathable to vent 148 heat and moisture fromthe athlete of the rain shell jacket out of the cape vent. However, eventhough the mesh is made of material that repels water, it is a mesh sosome water may penetrate through the holes of the mesh if it issaturated with water. In order to prevent this, the waterproof rear capevent 148 covers the hydrophobic mesh so water cannot touch thehydrophobic mesh. Instead, water will just drip downwards and off therear cape vent 148. As described above, conventional rain jackets try tobalance waterproofness and breathability. While these rain jackets maybe made from waterproof materials, the areas that are made of a meshmaterial for breathability are susceptible to water leaking into thejacket. Therefore, these rain jackets are not completely waterproof. Byusing a rear cape vent 148 on top of the hydrophobic mesh, the rainshell jacket described in this disclosure is both completely waterproofand completely breathable. That is, instead of relying on the fabric'sbreathability like most conventional performance apparel, thisdisclosure adds in construction level breathability in a mechanicalventing system.

As described above, around each shoulder on the back of the jacket 100are seams 106 that are shifted to the back of the jacket 100 to avoiddirect water impact to maximize waterproofness. Additionally, becausethese seams 106 are on the back of the jacket 100, water does not poolon these seams because most athletes face the direction from which therain or moisture is coming. Further, at the top of the inside of theback of the jacket 100 there is a locker loop that is made of 6 mm lightnylon webbing, placed in seam, and bartacked at seam points.

A shock cord (not shown) goes around the bottom of the jacket 100 andhas exit points on each side of the jacket 100. The shock cord goesthrough a plastic stabilizer at each exit point so the athlete canadjust the tightness of the bottom of the jacket 100 to create a snugfit and prevent any water from entering the inside of the jacket 100 atthe bottom of the jacket 100.

An alternative embodiment of the disclosure in shown in FIGS. 3A-3C.This shirt 300 has a hood with a pair of parallel, vertical seams 304that run from the location on the hood 302 that aligns approximately thewith base of the athlete's head during wear and a neck and face seam 306that extends along the base of the back of the athlete's neck at anangle up to each respective ear of the athlete and then along the upperedge of the hood along the athlete's forehead. These seams 302, 304 flexalong a typical vertical and horizontal rotation of the athlete's headwhen the hood is worn. Similar to the jacket described above, the shirtexample shown in FIGS. 3A-3C have shoulder seams 308, elbow gussets 310,and a torso seam 312 that all flex along the typical motion for anangler. The shirt also includes a pair of chest seams 314 that extendfrom the athlete's neck down the front of the athlete's chest to provideflexion for the shirt sleeves during the athlete's typical movement.

Embodiments of the disclosed bibs are shown in FIGS. 5A-5C. The bibs 500are typically worn by anglers in an overall fashion during fishing forsimilar reasons that the jacket is worn, which is to prevent rain, othermoisture or fluids, and cold from affecting the angler during use. Aswith the jacket embodiment discussed above, the disclosed bibs can beworn for any reason by any wearer. The example described herein arediscussed in relation to an athlete wearing them for angling but thedisclosure is not limited to this use.

The rain shell bibs 500 are made from waterproof fabric with seam-tapedconstruction. In one embodiment, the location of seam lines and thepatterning were chosen based on the range of motion for an angler.However, other embodiments are envisioned (e.g., game hunting, military,etc.) in which the location of seam lines and the patterning may bedifferent. Overall, the number of seam lines are reduced compared toconventional fishing bib pants. Reducing the number of seam linesdecreases failure areas (e.g., ripping of fabric at the seams, waterleaking into seams, etc.). Additionally, the seam lines are moved awayfrom areas where water would pool on the rain shell bib pant to minimizeareas where water may leak into seams.

The bibs 500 are designed so that there are no restrictions on the rangeof motion of the wearer. This is achieved by minimizing seam lines andthe strategic placing of the existing seam lines throughout the bibs500. Conventional bib pants can move off center when the athlete moveshis or her legs and can bunch up when sitting and standing. In order toprevent this, the back of the bibs 500 has a seam 502 that goes from thetop of the center of the buttocks to the groin of the athlete and anelastic band 504 that goes around the back of the athlete at the hips.This seam 502 and elastic band 504 keep the bibs 500 centered when theathlete is moving his or her legs and bending down. It also prevents thebibs 500 from moving up or down on the athlete when sitting or standing.

The groin and inner thigh area of the bibs 500 have a gusset 506 thatgoes from one inner thigh up to the groin and down to the other innerthigh. This gusset 506 provides extra space in the inner thigh and groinregion of the bibs 500, which allows the athlete to spread and move hisor her legs without any resistance or riding up of the bibs' pant legs.Conventional bib pants do not have this extra space in the inner thighand groin region, which makes the pant legs susceptible to riding up theathlete's legs when he or she spreads and moves his or her legs, whichmay expose the athlete's clothing and skin that is underneath the pantlegs to the external environment.

The pant legs of the bibs 500 each have a knee dart seam 508 and seams510 at the back of each of the calf muscles. The knee dart seams 508have a clean fit around each knee to accommodate resistance-free kneemovement and the seams 510 at the back of each calf muscle wrap aroundeach calf muscle to provide a snug fit for the lower leg of the bibs500. The pant legs of conventional bib pants ride up the athlete's legswhen she or he bends her or his knees, which exposes clothing or skinthat is underneath the bibs to the external environment. However,because of the knee dart seams 508 and the seams 510 at the back of eachcalf muscle, the pant legs of the disclosed bibs 500 stay in one placeand do not ride up the athlete's legs or expose any of the athlete'sclothing or skin that is underneath the bibs.

As with the seams in the jacket and shirt examples discussed above, theseam lines of the bibs 500 are the most common areas that rip and tear.The resistance caused by the movement of the upper legs at the hip, thelower legs at the knee, and the waist when reaching down in conventionalbib pants legs put added stress at the seam lines, thereby increasingthe likelihood of ripping and tearing at these seam lines. Byeliminating the resistance upper leg, lower leg, and waist movementshave on the bib pant, rips and tears along the seams lines are greatlyreduced.

The front of the rain shell bib pant has a zipper 512 in the center thatextends down to the wearer's groin area. The zipper 512 for the bibs 500is a TIZIP MasterSeal 6 zipper that has a 3 PSI pressure rating and iscertified for space suits to prevent the vacuum of space from suckingout the air inside the space suit. The zipper 512 is heavy duty withwidened seam tap for full security. The zipper 512 is made of a durable,polyurethane-coated tape and the durable plastic teeth of the zipper areattached to the tape. The waterproof and pressure-resistant propertiesof the zipper 512 are achieved by using a sealing lip at the point ofinterlocking.

The bibs 500 have elastic 38 mm elastic shoulder straps. These straps514 allow for equal distribution of weight on the shoulders. Each strap514 has an easy release securing element 516, such as a magnetic Fidlockbuckle that is rated to carry 70 kg and allow the user to quickly andefficiently detach, adjust, and re-attach each shoulder strap 514.Additionally, each shoulder strap 514 may be detached with one hand.Conventional bib pants have shoulder straps that are not magneticbuckles which requires the wearer to use both hands (i.e., one hand oneach part of the buckle) in order to buckle the strap around his or hershoulder. Further, each strap 514 may be adjusted by a 38 mm elasticadjuster. Underneath the shoulder straps 514 at the chest of the athletewearing the bibs 500, there are interior pockets 518 on each side. Thesepockets 518 are lined with microfiber or other material with thermalproperties that can help the pockets serve as hand warmers for thewearer.

As described above, each pant leg of the bibs 500 has a knee dart seam508 that creates a clean fit to accommodate knee movement and there is acenter groin gusset 506 that adds free-range movement. Otherwise, thereare minimal seams in the groin area to allow for flexion of the bibs 500and to prevent pooling of water. The side seam 518 for each pant leg hasan overlap to protect from vertical and directional water flow and thereare seams 520 on each pant leg that wrap around the back calf muscles.Further, in order to avoid seam failure, there are minimal seam lines onthe bibs 500 where the athlete's buttocks would be.

A full leg waterproof zipper 522 runs down the side from the hip to thebottom of each pant leg of the bibs 500, a portion of which is shown inFIG. 6. This allows for the athlete to unzip the zipper 522 as far upthe leg to the hip as necessary to easily place her or his leg into thepant legs of the bibs 500 without taking off boots, gear, or sittingdown. These zippers also prevent the bibs 500 from butterflying openwhen taking the pants on and off. Conventional bib pants require thewearer to remove his or her boots prior to putting on or taking off thebibs. The zippers have been designed into each pant leg so that they donot get caught on the fabric and can be used with only one hand. Eachzipper has a directional flap to direct water away from the zipper.

The bottom of each pant leg of the bibs 500 has a security cuff 524 thathas a 38 mm Velcro strap that is sewn into the fabric and is used toadjust the tightness of the pant leg cuff around the wearer's ankle andcover the zipper 522 that runs down the side of each pant leg. Thishelps to keep water from soaking up through the user's skin and midlayerpants that are typically worn underneath the bibs 500.

Around the waist of the rain shell bib pant is an elastic waistband 504.The waistband 504 is concealed in a laminated, waterproof 38 inchchannel that has been shrunk by 15% for a clean fit without compromisingwaterproofing. The waistband 504 hugs the lower back and rests on thetop of the hips. It expands and retracts as the wearer of the bibs 500moves, which allows the bibs 500 to distribute its weightproportionately throughout the athlete's body instead of concentratingthe weight load of the bibs 500 on the athlete's back and addingpressure from the shoulder straps 514 on the athlete's shoulders.

The bibs 500 have watertight thigh pockets 526 with additional laminatedangled storm flaps for a fully waterproof construction, which are shownin FIG. 7. The flaps are move freely at each side to make it easier tomove when putting hands in and out of pocket. Instead, the top of theeach flap is secured to the seam line. The flaps prevent water frompooling on the pocket zipper, since in conventional bib pants the zippercan act as a dam to pool water. Additionally, the flaps guard againstwater entry through the zipper. The top of the pocket is laminated andtaped to the inside of the flap. The zipper is a bonded laminatedreverse coil zipper placed 5 mm above the edge of the bottom of theflap. The bottom of the pocket ends in a flap to allow for a biggerpocket so a full hand can go in and out easily.

The features disclosed in the foregoing description, or the followingclaims, or the accompanying drawings, expressed in their specific formsor in terms of a means for performing the disclosed function, or amethod or process for attaining the disclosed result, as appropriate,may, separately, or in any combination of such features, be used forrealizing the invention in diverse forms thereof.

1. An article of apparel, comprising: a main body portion; a hoodattached to the main body portion, the hood having a flexible seam thatextends along either or both of a vertical or horizontal axis, thevertical or horizontal axis corresponding to a vertical or horizontalhead movement of a wearer when the article of apparel is worn by thewearer.
 2. The article of apparel of claim 1, wherein the main bodyportion is a jacket.
 3. The article of apparel of claim 1, wherein themain body portion is a shirt.
 4. The article of apparel of claim 1,wherein the hood has two flexible seams that run along the verticalaxis.
 5. The article of apparel of claim 4, wherein the two flexibleseams run along the vertical axis from a location on the hood thatcorresponds with the base of the back of the neck of the wearer over atop of the head of the wearer to a forehead of the wearer.
 6. Thearticle of apparel of claim 5, wherein the hood further comprises a faceopening and the two flexible seams run along the vertical axis to aposition that is a distance short of the edge of the face opening. 7.The article of apparel of claim 4, wherein the two flexible seams areparallel.
 9. The article of apparel of claim 7, wherein the hood furthercomprises a horizontal flexible seam that extends along the horizontalaxis.
 10. The article of apparel of claim 9, wherein the horizontalflexible seam extends between the two flexible seams that run along thevertical axis.
 11. The article of apparel of claim 9, wherein thehorizontal flexible seam is positioned on the hood is a location thatcorresponds to the base of the head of the wearer.
 12. The article ofapparel of claim 1, wherein the hood has two flexible seams, a firstflexible seam runs along the vertical axis and a second flexible seamruns along the horizontal axis.
 13. The article of apparel of claim 1,wherein the hood further comprises a facemask that extends around aportion of a face of the wearer.
 14. The article of apparel of claim 1,wherein the hood further comprises a shock cord that extends around aportion of the hood to adjust a size of the hood at a location thatcorresponds to a neck of the wearer.
 15. The article of apparel of claim1, wherein the hood further comprises a shock cord that extends around aportion of the hood to adjust a size of the hood at a location thatcorresponds to a back of the head of the wearer.
 16. The article ofapparel of claim 1, wherein the hood further comprises a face openingand a shock cord that extends around the face opening.
 17. The articleof apparel of claim 16, wherein the face opening is shaped to extendabove a mouth of the wearer.
 18. The article of apparel of claim 16,wherein the face opening is shaped to extend below a chin of the wearer.